Quote: Lori Hall

Does it matter, as far as nutrition, if I lightly cook it or give it raw?

IMHO, yes, it does.

However, this is not a long-term diet and it's probably not crucial.

Amounts: The total amount depends on how the dog's weight is being maintained. Is he the right weight?

What I would do is use RMBs, which with beef probably have to be ground since there are so few beef bones that are great for actual chewing and digesting, and a little of the sweet potato (and pumpkin would be my preference because of the much lower sugar content).

BTW, I admire your stick-to-it-iveness. That's what allergies require.

I can tell you that using every weapon you have is the way to go; there is no magic bullet, and a combination of removing allergens from his space and his body, topical relief (like "Relief" spray), the elimination diet and then a good raw no-grain menu, and trials of antihistamines can often give you good results short of skin tests.

A Tufts 2005 study found that the antihistamines you (and I) mentioned work far better in combination with Omega 3s than they do on their own. I'd consider new trials with the dog back on fish oil and E. Also, I'd be sure to use a therapeutic fish oil dose of a gram (1000 mg) per ten pounds of dog weight. That's 7 or 8 grams a day, or about 1.5 teaspoons, for your dog.

JMO!

How do you grind beef bones? They are sooo hard that the reviews I've read for home grinders can't even do them! You know what I really want to do is give him chicken and see what happens. He's been on the beef and sweet potato since March 1st - do you think it's too soon to try the chicken? He's still itching more than I'd like anyway! It would be so much easier to deal with chicken than beef - cost wise and bone wise, if he can eat it. Some elimination diets say 4 weeks, some 6, some 8, even 12 - what's your thought?

I've been in your position a couple times. Unfortunately, real results seem to come slowly. I'll make several suggestions that apparently haven't been mentioned.

First, start keeping a log of what changes you're making in diet, environment, and other factors while you're attempting to improve things. Just reading the changes and adjustments you've mentioned in your posts is getting me confused, and months from now, it'll all be a blur to you unless you can go back and read what you've done. Sometimes going back and reviewing that material will make things clearer about what seems to be working and not working. The effects of some changes, e.g, diet and supplements, may not appear for days or weeks, while other changes, like medications, etc., may be observable in a day or so.

Probably contrary to most everyone here, I don't hesitate use prednisone as a magic bullet, BUT. . . it is used as a last resort, in very minimally effective doses, and for a very short period. I'm near the coast, too, and my last two GSDs have lived with ongoing inhalant/environmental allergy problems. I've tried several antihistamines with poor results. With everything I've learned about and tried - diet, supplementation, probiotics - prednisone has consistently worked quickly to quell the occasional bad flare-up, or the scratching that leads to raw skin, or when the dog is miserable, up all night scratching, chewing, etc. About 2.g to 5mg (for a day or two) will work wonders with my 65# female. This is well under the recommended dosage. There are side effects for long term use of higher doses. But when the irritation becomes intolerable for your dog, it works. Consult with your vet.

I don't know where this would fit in your diet plans, but for allergy problems, I've had great results with plain yogurt, but not probiotic powders or enzymes. The short version is that yogurt cultures provided a boost to a bad or out of balance immune system which triggers allergic responses in the body that don't get shut off when they should be. Be glad to give more details if you're interested.

JMO

Mike